Week 7 - Podcasting and Online Video

I have a new "fave" soundbite regarding podcasts - they are "bespoke materials" captured for posterity!

This week's exercise was interesting and, as some have said, more frustrating than some others. I supposedly have high speed internet at my home but as luck would have it my connection speeds have been dropping to the point where I had to call the cable company out to take a look - they fixed my TV problems but my connectivity is still terrible. And guess what the first symptom was? Completely unable to use YouTube. At first I thought they might be "throttling" me, specifically restricting access to YouTube (like some businesses do). But looks like it was just a slow connection.

That aside, though, I think there are lots of potential uses for YouTube for libraries. I think brief tutorials, whether screenshot based or much more creative and fun (like the CommonCraft video series). While I think much bibliographic instruction is slow and plodding and way too detailed I think cutting things into little short snippets and making them available at the time of need makes excellent sense! I think podcasts could function in much the same way though they're less interesting in my book (on the other hand you may be willing to listen to a lecture, like in your car driving home or on public transportation, that you wouldn't be able to watch a video as easily or safely). The audio vs. video really depends on the content (and the audience's preferred learning style to some extent). There are also lots of neat things out there for us to point people to, even if we have no hand in their production. I really like SciVee.tv and the idea of people doing videos where they talk about their research. There are starting to be more and more useful educational and current awareness things that aren't just lecture capture, we could start helping people find and use them. And, of course, creating our own to fill in the gaps.

One issue I see is that many of these sites don't support browsing very well, they're set up more for searching. So its both a curse and a blessing - a pain in the arse to use but we could also do a great service by pulling out the good stuff and making it easier to find. Seems as though these sites view themselves more as repositories of content rather than sites to be used and navigated (ironically they have the same weakness I see in most library OPACs!). But having the content there and usable by anyone is fabulous, so I applaud them even as I cringe trying to find something other than a known item where there are unique terms to search on (like a person's name).

The one thing I have something of a dim view of (I know, always the curmudgeon) is overdoing the promotional angle with videos or podcasts. I think that putting your good works out there is promotion in and of itself, and trying "too hard" to promote your products or services (rather than letting them promote themselves) can lead to really cheesy experiences. And in the online environment we compete with all sorts of hip, sexy stuff so the last thing we need is something which makes us look slow, boring, stuffy - "the school play" in Edward Tufte-speak. Being earnest and sincere is fine, but much beyond that is the realm of advertising pros, which in my experience most librarians are not.

Only other comment - the initial video made some fun of the idea of sending things out on CD as that was old school. I'd submit that its actually not such a bad call, its just not the only way to do things. If you have a bunch of content burning it all to a CD (or letting people download it and burn their own) isn't such a bad idea. As you see from the comments this week (plus my home experience) the network isn't always as robust as it could be. A video site I'm involved with moved from streaming media to progressive downloads in part because of problems with network congestion and connectivity. Kinda reminds me of the old days (early 90's) when I'd download a postage stamp sized version of the Super Chicken or George of the Jungle opening credits from Apple - it took all day, but it was there waiting for me when I got home. Podcasting, in theory, works that way but I'm wondering if the YouTube model is starting to cause strain on the level of bandwidth people actually have access to reliably. And you compete with your neighbors for bandwidth in most environments. Don't get me started about Net Neutrality and other such issues. Point being, I guess, that much as I love the idea of web applications and connectivity anytime anywhere there is an issue when that network goes down. Reminds me of the mid-late 80s when I worked at a bank in Dayton and the computers that we needed were in Columbus - they swore that weather had nothing to do with it but every time there was a major storm the connection dropped and we couldn't get anything done. Until we have the robust networks of death everywhere, all the time, and they aren't subject to business or political interference perhaps the ability to have your own local copy of stuff isn't such a bad backup plan :-) Just make it available both or multiple ways...